THE CONNECTED MUNICIPALITY
Resources
Practical ideas for what residents need to understand, find, do and engage with, and what needs to be in place behind the scenes.
How to use these pages
Each page starts with what it looks like when it’s working well and where to start. The ideas that follow are labelled by kind: an approach is a way of organizing or working, a tool is something you add or switch on, an optional AI tool is a tool that uses AI, and a foundation is something to have in place behind the scenes. Many of the best improvements are approaches, not new software. At the end of each page, “Related ideas” are other ways to tackle the same task, and “Also consider” points to things that help them work.
Understand
Information residents rely on every day.
- Municipal Information & Navigation: help people find everyday information without knowing which department handles it.
- News, Notices & Emergency Information: help people understand what’s happening now, and what they need to know or do.
- Council, Policies & Documents: help people find official municipal records and understand how they connect to decisions, meetings, and services.
Find
Helping people discover what is happening and what is available.
- Events & Activities: help people discover what’s happening in the community & find events and activities that match their interests.
- Facilities, Parks & Recreation: help people understand what’s available and make it easier to participate.
- Directories & Local Listings: help people find local organizations, services, and community groups, and keep those listings up to date.
- Business & Workforce Opportunities: help businesses, workers, and investors discover the resources and opportunities available in your community.
- Tourism & Community Discovery: help people discover what makes your community worth exploring & turn inspiration into a plan.
Do
Everyday tasks residents can complete online.
- Service Requests: make it easier for people to ask for help, report an issue, and understand what happens next.
- Forms & Applications: make it easier for people to complete and submit municipal forms online.
- Bookings & Registration: help people find availability, reserve a time or space, and complete registration online.
- Payments & Renewals: make everyday municipal payments and renewals easier to manage online.
Engage
Ways for residents to have a say and get involved.
- Public Engagement: help people share their perspectives, contribute ideas, and participate in decisions that affect their community.
- Community Participation: help people find meaningful ways to get involved, connect with others, and contribute to their community.
- Community Economic Development: help communities recognize their strengths, build local capacity, and turn opportunities into action.
Behind the scenes
What needs to be in place for everything else to work.
- Content Quality & Governance: keep municipal website content accurate, accessible, understandable, and actively maintained.
- Accessibility & Responsiveness: create digital experiences that are accessible, adaptable, and easy to use.
- Digital Foundations: build a digital environment that is secure, reliable, connected, & manageable.
- AI & Your Website: help AI give residents accurate answers about your municipality, and use it where it genuinely saves time.
- Visual System & Components: create a consistent visual language that makes the municipal website easier to recognize, understand, and maintain.
- Internal Workflow & Approvals: help municipal staff move requests, decisions, and approvals through the organization more clearly.
How well does your website work for residents?
Take the free check-up. In about 20 minutes you'll walk through everyday situations, like reporting a pothole or finding a council agenda, and get a plain-language check-up report of what's working and what to tackle first.